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Philip Morris wanted to be the first company allowed by the government to claim its product is less harmful than cigarettes. The tobacco giant is also moving on a separate track to win approval to simply sell the device without making such claims, but that would not be as big a boon to sales.

The F.D.A. is not bound by the panel’s recommendations, but often follows them and is expected to decide if Philip Morris can sell the device, with or without the health claim, within a few months.

But committee members questioned the quality of the science behind the company’s safety claims and the company’s assertion that the stick would not appeal to young people.